The Lithuanian Language and Culture Courses, also known as the Summer Academy, is a welcome and long-standing event. People from all over the world, willing to improve their knowledge of Lithuanian or learn the basics of the language, are coming to KU for the 22nd time. This year, around 90 students from 21 countries will participate. More than half of the participants are Ukrainian, and the farthest geographical point from which this year's participant Claudio Deveikis, of Lithuanian descent, has come is Curitiba, Brazil. Representatives of Mexico, Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon, USA, Scandinavian and other European countries will learn to communicate in Lithuanian in Klaipėda.
According to Jūratė Derukaitė, coordinator of the Summer Academy, quite a few of its participants have already attended the courses at KU and seek to improve their language proficiency level.
. At the opening of the event, it was noted that the Summer Academy attracted people of all ages and interests to Klaipėda, and teachers from Lithuanian schools abroad also brought children with them. This year, a special educational programme has again been prepared for them. This innovation, first tested last year, was a great success. A total of 11 teachers from abroad who are committed to fostering Lithuanian identity have registered for the study programme for teachers of Lithuanian schools.
In his welcome speech, Dean of the FSSH KU prof. dr. Rimantas Balsys called the mission of this project no less important than the goal of the NATO Summit in Vilnius: to consolidate world peace. "Through languages, through culture, we communicate, we get acquainted with and understand each other. This is how we build a contemporary, peaceful world," emphasised prof. Balsys.
The Lithuanian Language and Culture Summer Academy at KU will continue until mid-August.
